A Strange Ride Through The Bleak
Lumazu | California | 04/28/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The album begins with the haunting keyboards of "Satura," and ends with the somewhat lighter keyboards of the amazing "Flamme im Wind." I consider this one of Lacrimosa's more challenging albums to listen to. What is great about this band is that they are deceptively simple, simultaneously playing background music and music you have to pay close attention to or you will miss something.
Fans of Fassade or Echos or Lichtgestaldt may be disappointed by this because it is definitely less accessible. It is dark, brooding, and Tilo's voice moves through it like a cat's claws across bare skin. I have no idea what he is singing (it is all in German), but there is no mistaking the emotion behind it.
"Erinnerung" starts with some kind of chilling baby noises before a Eurythmics-like bassline settles in. The baby noises remind me of the song "Possessed" by Venom for some reason. This song, German for memory, is quite a bit more upbeat than anything on this album, but that is not saying a whole lot. It's not something I can see many people trying to dance to...
"Crucifixio" is a truly strange song, beginning with a church bell, or perhaps a death knell, and another haunting keyboard sound that moves slowly up and down your spine. It's hard to describe the emotion behind this, but it is heavy and difficult to listen to all the way through despite its beauty.
"Versuchung" is one of my favorite songs on the album, with a driving bassline at about the four minute mark (all these songs are rather long and complex). It begins slowly, however, building up to a point of climax and then...purposefully not delivering, at least not where you expect it to.
"Das Schwiegen" is a piano bit with Tilo's kermitty vocals sailing over.
"Flamme im Wind" is my favorite song on the album, and a fitting closer as it is the climax the album has alluded to but not delivered so far. Yet it still restrains itself, and still has that creepy vibe to it.
The album delivers depression and meaning without sounding melodramatic, shying away from the sound on Lacrimosa's earlier albums. I believe this is the album that set the precedent for Inferno, which is one of my favorites by them, but because the album is so slow and brooding it is difficult for me to listen to it all the way through. It is worth the price for just "Flamme im Wind," however.
If you are new to Lacrimosa, I recommend Inferno, Echos, Fassade, or Lichtgestaldt. This album, while good, is really for completist fans of Lacrimosa. It is when they were in a transitional period, moving a little further from their classical roots and more towards their faster-moving poppier sounds later on."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1